Only six states offer online casino gambling, and Maryland is now contemplating the possibility of drafting legislation to bring it to market. However, there is a long way to go before Marylanders will be playing online slots and table games in the same manner they participate in Maryland sports betting.
The Future Is Now
Online gambling in Maryland is relatively new, with mobile sports betting having launched less than a year ago in November 2022. But now the focus has shifted to bringing iGaming to the Maryland market and a recent confab of legislators and iGaming experts at Morgan State University’s Center for Data Analytics and Sports Gaming Research discussed that possibility.
Becca Giden, the director of policy for Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, a consulting firm in the gambling industry, offered her opinion recently as to how welcome iGaming would be in the Old Line State. “My optimism for even the best-chance state to legalize in 2024 currently tops out at about 50%,” said Giden. “It’s just plain difficult generally, but it’s been especially tough in the last two-ish years.”
“I would comfortably seat Maryland there,” she said. “Maryland ticks a lot of our ‘momentum-increasing characteristics’ boxes.”
Prospects and Implications
In an effort to explore this additional tax stream further, the Maryland State Lottery & Gaming Control Agency will be submitting an iCasino study conducted by The Innovation Group to the state legislature on or about November 15th and Rush Street Interactive CEO Richard Schwartz noted the study during a second-quarter earnings call.
Once a study is commissioned, most of the time it says what the customer wants to hear.
“I’ve only seen a few of these ‘a proposal to expand gambling’ studies, and I have yet to see one that says ‘don’t bother,’” Giden said.
Doing What’s Best
Many legislators believe bringing online casino gambling to the market shortly after mobile sports betting could be a case of too much too soon. The fear is that problem gambling will spike and the deleterious effects of this influx of gambling accessibility could outweigh the advantages of more revenue to the state and local governments to support their initiatives.
John Pappas, senior vice president of government affairs at GeoComply, believes responsible gaming practices are a vital component of any gambling activity.
“You want to have as many customers gambling within their means as possible,” Pappas said. “No operator benefits from a problem gambler. That person is on your site for a very short time because either they’ve run out of money or they’ve come to a conclusion that they shouldn’t be gambling anymore.”
Revenue Potential and Need for Regulation
But money moves mountains and iGaming brings in lots of it. West Virginia is one of the six states currently offering iGaming to anyone of legal age within its borders and one of its legislators, Shawn Fluharty, said at the conference, “It takes nearly three months of sports betting in West Virginia to raise enough revenue that we can do in one month with iGaming.”
Pappas also suggested that if someone wants to bet online, the options are there in the form of unregulated sites.
“I encourage you to go home, type, ‘Can I play online poker in Maryland?’ and tell me what you see,” Pappas said. “You’re going to be directed to multiple affiliate sites that say, ‘Come to this site and play. It’s totally legal. It’s totally legitimate.’ It’s not legal. It’s not legitimate.”
Whether Maryland ultimately acts remains to be seen but the prospects are looking brighter by the day.
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